From The Heart Productions
Fiscally Sponsored Indie Films and Projects
From the Heart Productions Fiscal Sponsorship Program
is designed to carry out our mission to help independent filmmakers who have unique projects that make a contribution to society, get their films funded.
Working with our 501(c)3 non-profit, fiscally sponsored filmmakers can offer donors tax deductions for their donations. Our “boutique” program sets itself apart by offering hands-on personalized attention, support, and film funding advice from our board members and staff.
Search for a project
Voices of Grief, Honoring the Sacred Journey
Documentary Film
The Documentary Film – “Voices of Grief, Honoring the Scared Journey” - shares a fresh perspective on the many ways we navigate successfully through grief or companion others along their journey. Wisdom from contemporary authors, grief experts and spiritual teachers is woven through personal stories of loss to explore the roles of compassion, community, and connection in this sacred journey.
Void
Short Film
A married couple comes one final time to their late son’s apartment to pick up his last belongings.
After a chain of events and a change of heart, their grief and needs prove to be incompatible.
Mainstream media has successfully presented the trauma of losing a loved one. But surprisingly few films explore the incredibly personal sorrow that can explode even genuinely loving marriages. We aim to explore and make visible this familiar yet unseen drama.
'Void' talks about the individuality of the healing process: everybody has different needs in order to deal with grief, and sometimes this can get in the way of love.
Water
Short Film
Water is a short filmed based on a real encounter I had with a probable homeless man when I lived in Los Angeles. I witnessed him accessing a water line illegally to fill up a number of plastic water bottles he was carrying in his tattered vehicle. His car was filled with clothes and day-to-day items. He was likely one of the estimated 16,000 Angelenos who live in their vehicles full or part-time.
We are like Waves
Documentary Film
Along the South Coast of Sri Lanka, surfing is everywhere. Yet only foreigners and local men fill the lineups. Surfing is not seen as a sport for girls. This is a result of cultural and societal expectations that place women inside the household, particularly in rural areas. Young girls are expected to follow certain standards: be kind, look nice, and smile. Attend school, study, work. Get married, and start a family. Be a housewife, cook, and clean.
The ocean is simply not seen as a place for women.
Sanu must decide if she wants to continue a typical life as a housewife, or risk carving her own path as a surfer. This is a story of finding one’s voice in a sea of expectations.
We Woke
Narrative Feature
What's in a Name
Documentary Film
Three trans women fight to overturn a harsh law that binds them to their past.
Tania Cordova, Eisha Love, and Reyna Ortiz are suing the state of Illinois to strike down a law that prohibits people with felony convictions from legally changing their names. A male name on their government ID exposes the women as transgender, which opens them up to harassment and danger on a daily basis. WHAT'S IN A NAME shares the personal journeys of three women who, at the risk of exposing themselves - not only as trans, but as people with felony backgrounds - have become key activists involved in the effort to pass HB2542, a state bill that strikes down the name change law.
When I Was a Human: The Movie
Narrative Feature
Being human is no walk in the dog park. Indy, an ex-shelter dog, has begun to understand it soon after turning himself into a human by eating a miracle dog biscuit. But he must expose the lies by his owner's new love interest. Human Indy is ready to take back Kimmy, his owner's affection!
Among all the confusing rules and behaviors that Indy has to understand, he sees the pain he's causing Kimmy by disappearing as her dog. It will take more than living as a human for Indy to secure his spot by Kimmy's side; it will take discovering what it means to love and be loved.
When Mountains Fall
Documentary Film
The children of three families from Syria and Iraq struggle to rebuild after surviving war and forced migration. With ever-increasing barriers in their new home in Europe, the challenges are daunting. But these kids are not lost—they are working to rebuild new lives, meet new challenges, and prepare for adulthood. In this film they tell their own stories.
When the Bass Drops
Narrative Feature
Whitehead: An Improbably Charmed Life
Documentary Film
Born to a working class English family just after World War Two, Paul Whitehead was destined for ordinariness but his unique outlook, unquestionable talent, and joie de vivre led him to extraordinary adventures, friendship with rock luminaries, and experimentation with identity and perception that is anything but ordinary. Now in his 70s and forced to move from downtown LA, Paul looks back on a life of playing with perception and identity as he finds the setting for his third act. He’s not who you think he is and you might not be either.
Who Are You, Nanu?
Short Film
After her Nanu’s (‘grandfather’ in Hindi) ceremonial cremation brings her to the Holy Ganges River in India, 8 year-old oddball Aisha befriends the phantom of her Nanu’s rambunctious 10 year-old self. After being told those who die go to the Moon by her father, a sentiment from a traditional Indian lullaby, Aisha and her Nanu’s ghost, named Little Nanu, go to that very place themselves. Fueled by curiosity and connection, together they discover what's after death and forge a relationship they never had the chance at whilst Nanu was alive.
Wind In Their Sails: Death and Resurrection
Documentary Film
Bring them back from the dead
This film celebrates the classic yachts that have survived and the people who have dedicated their lives to maintaining them. These people are passionate about their work, and it shows in the way they talk about the boats and the care they take in maintaining them.
The dark side to this story is wooden boats need lots of tender loving care to keep them afloat and capable of sailing. Without that care these boats fall into disrepair quickly and every year several of them just disappear.
A few lucky boats find a way to come back to life and that is where our story begins.
Yellow
Short Film
You Don't Look Sick: A Documentary Series
Web/TV Series
YOU DON'T LOOK SICK: A DOCUMENTARY SERIES follows the lives of 3 people with autoimmune disease and fibromyalgia during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. Throughout the 6-episode series, Aliza, Justin and Ariana share their experiences getting diagnosed, living with chronic pain, maneuvering the healthcare system, finding effective treatments, managing intimate relationships, and enduring the struggle.